A comprehensive national security system, identifying, tracking and monitoring all types of vehicles is needed in the light of the U.S. tragedy of 9/11. A faster, more convenient and more efficient toll-fee collections system is also in great demand.
Federal, state and local governmental agencies that maintain and regulate roadways, waterways and airway transportation have depended, in large measure, on the use of collected tolls and fees for proper maintenance and the construction of new infrastructures. The efforts to collect vehicle tolls have caused many problems, including:                1. In toll plazas, traffic back-ups have adverse effects to the environment, personal safety, and business enterprise.        2. Costs for labor and maintenance have diminished the profitability of the toll system.        3. Inasmuch as participation in transponder-fee-collection is voluntary, many people still rely on cash, extending the possibility of errors, mishandling of funds and failures in data collection and processing.        
There are still significant problems in effective administration and oversight of vehicular regulatory compliance in the matters of insurance; vehicle safety inspection and vehicle exhaust system controls.
Transportation toll/fee collection systems have proved to be labor intensive and costly to construct and maintain. Under the current methods employed by authorized toll collection agencies, a motor vehicle operator must voluntarily subscribe to a transponder-type fee collection system, or queue-up to pay the required fee in cash. Utilization of the “cash-only” process necessitates a toll collector who must complete the collection which involves a time-consuming event adding to delays and traffic congestion and untoward accidents. Transponder-type fee collections have not been completely successful since a majority of motorists do not subscribe to this type of system. Furthermore, transponders may become defective under certain circumstances, and the unit itself may be stolen from the legitimate subscriber.
In many municipalities, the parking meter has served as a passive toll taker, but this method of fee collecting has not been fully successful. In the matter of parking meters, the motorist has often been unduly punished and the municipality cheated of revenue. False coins are put into meters and pilfering and destruction of coin boxes are serious problems with the unguarded equipment. Ill-prepared meter readers have often written inaccurate license numbers and street locations. Coin box theft and severe damage to meters caused by automobiles and vandals demand repairs and maintenance. Parking meter machines that print out time and date for paid vehicular parking are inefficient, demanding an inordinate number of coins, and requiring the meter reader to strain to see the correctness of the receipt placed on top of the vehicle's dashboard.
Police officers face several difficulties in current car-to-car surveillance work, checking dates of vehicle registration and certificates of inspection. Inclement weather can preclude the officer's attention to the routine surveillance; hastily written summons may incorrectly record vehicle license number, location and infraction.